1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nursing equipment or an adjustable child safety support device such as an adjustable child safety seat and, more specifically, to a structure for a nursing equipment capable of fully protecting a head (brain) of an infant.
2. Description of the Background Art
Healthy and sound growth of infants and babies is a common wish of parents worldwide. The first to third years, and especially the second year for a baby is a critical period when the baby comes to be aware of his or her self. Therefore, it is recognized that protection of the head (brain) of the, infant of this age is of importance for sound and healthy growth of the infant.
The head (brain) may be protected by a xe2x80x9cproper nursing methodxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cuse of proper nursing equipment.xe2x80x9d Here, xe2x80x9cproper nursing methodxe2x80x9d means proper parental care of the infant as described in detail in, for example, IKUJI NO GENRI (Principle of Child Bearing), by Dr. Jushichiro Naito.
A vehicular child safety seat disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-289733 filed on Oct. 22, 1997 and laid-open on Sep. 22, 1998 under Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-2550426, by the same applicant as the present application (which corresponds to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/004,699) proposed as xe2x80x9cproper nursing equipmentxe2x80x9d, includes a pair of side guards on opposing sides of a back rest. Inside the pair of side guards, a pair of side head guards are provided for protecting the head of an infant.
In the structure of the vehicular child safety seat disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-289733, though the position of the head of an infant changes as the infant grows, the side head guards are fixed inside the side guards. Therefore, the side head guards are not always at the optimal position for protecting the head (brain) of the infant.
An object of the present invention is to provide a proper nursing equipment for assisting healthy and sound growth of an infant and, more specifically, to provide a nursing equipment which can help to sufficiently protect the head (brain) of the infant against external shock, throughout the growth of the infant. The term xe2x80x9cnursing equipmentxe2x80x9d is used herein refers to an adjustable child safety support device such as an adjustable child safety seat.
The above described objects of the present invention can be attained by the nursing equipment in accordance with one aspect of the present invention which includes a back rest supporting the infant from behind, a pair of side body guards provided on opposing sides of the back rest for protecting the sides of the infant, and a pair of side head guards adjustable in height in the upward/downward direction, provided inside the pair of side body guards for protecting the head of the infant. The side body guards will be termed side guards herein for brevity.
As the pair of side head guards are provided adjustable in height in the upward/downward direction, the pair of side head guards can be positioned optimally relative to the position of the head (brain) of the infant, as the infant grows. Accordingly, it is possible to help to sufficiently protect the head (brain) of the infant against external shock.
In the nursing equipment, the pair of side head guards are provided detachable from the nursing equipment. Further, the side head guards are provided slidable from an upper region to a lower region of the pair of side guards.
Preferably, the pair of side head guards are provided detachable from the pair of side guards. More preferably, the pair of side head guards are not detachable when they are positioned in the lower region of the pair of side guards, and are detachable when they are positioned in the upper region of the pair of side guards.
Because of this structure, it becomes possible to provide a nursing equipment which always fits the body of the infant, as he or she grows from an infant to a toddler, by appropriately removing the pair of side head guards from the nursing equipment in accordance with the growth of the infant.
Preferably, in the nursing equipment, the pair of side head guards have a shock absorbing structure. More preferably, the back rest has a shock absorbing structure at least at a position of the back rest where the head of the infant rests, for absorbing shock.
More preferably, the back rest further has a strip shaped member for coupling back sides of the pair of side guards and more preferably, the strip shaped member has a shock absorbing structure for absorbing the shock at least at that position of the member where the head of the infant rests.
By the above described structure in which respective members are provided with a shock absorbing structure, it becomes possible to cover the head of an infant from both sides and from the back side to fully protect the head. Therefore, the head (brain) of the infant can be substantially fully protected against external shock.
More preferably, the nursing equipment further has a safety belt including a shoulder belt for supporting the infant on the back rest, and the strip shaped member has a guide hole through which the shoulder belt of the safety belt is passed. Preferably, the guide hole includes a holding member for holding the shoulder belt.
By this structure, it becomes possible to adjust the position of the strip shaped member and to adjust the position of the shoulder belt of the safety belt, to be fit to the body of the infant.
The nursing equipment further includes an upper head guard at an upper position of the back rest, and the strip shaped member, the pair of side head guards and the upper head guard are provided integrally, movable in the upward/downward direction.
This structure facilitates adjustment of the nursing equipment in accordance with the sides of the body of the infant and to always ensure a comfortable space for the infant.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.